HISTORY

Creating Opportunities and Building Confidence: ’s Unexpected Support of Women in Math and Science

Della Dumbaugh

[The Clare Boothe Luce Program].2 The 30th anniversary of ABSTRACT. How did a woman who was a playwright the initial Clare Boothe Luce Fund awards provides a timely and a politician advance American women in mathe- opportunity to reflect on the life of Clare, to consider her matics and science? This paper explores the life of Clare motivation in establishing this support, and to explore the Boothe Luce and her pioneering—and unexpected—im- pact on the development of mathematics and science. impact of her funding on women and institutions. Clare Boothe Luce: Life Experiences Shaping Introduction a Bequest With her death in 1987 Clare Boothe Luce bequeathed On March 10, 1903, in New York City, Clare, born Ann nearly $70 million1 to establish a fund “to encourage Clare Boothe, began her life as she would live it—sur- women to enter, study, graduate and teach” in the fields rounded by conflict and drama. Clare was the second ille- of science, engineering, and mathematics. This decision gitimate child of Ann Snyder (Anglicized from Anna Clara seems an unlikely choice for a woman who, while alive, was Schneider) and William Franklin Boothe [Morris, 1997, p. widely known as a playwright, magazine editor, American 15]. William Boothe was legally married to another woman ambassador to Italy, war correspondent, congresswoman, at the time. Although he subsequently divorced his first wife and wife of Henry Luce, who co-founded TIME Inc. Despite in 1906, William and Ann Snyder never married. After his having no known connection to or interest in what are now once successful piano business dwindled, he worked as a STEM fields [Teltsch], Clare Boothe Luce challenged women medical salesman and, finally, as a musician. In search of to enter into and excel in more commonly male-domi- work, William’s musical career took the family to various nated fields. Her vision established a foundation that has cities, including Memphis, Nashville, and Chicago. Money become “the most significant source of private support for grew increasingly scarce with each move. As William’s fi- women in science, math and engineering in the US [Grant nancial resources faded, so did Ann’s affection for him. She Spotlight].” had met him as a flourishing executive and now he was an The Clare Boothe Luce Program has supported more than 2300 women since awarding the first grants in 1989 2Interestingly, nearly twenty years before her death, Clare proposed the idea of considering a woman for a (Henry) Luce Fellowship. Specifically, Della Dumbaugh is a professor of mathematics at the University of Rich- in 1968, when asked her opinion on a proposed Luce Fellowship Program mond and an associate editor of the Notices. Her email is ddumbaugh@ at Time, Inc. Clare Boothe Luce wrote mostly about “the man” or “him” richmond.edu. in this position. Near the end of the letter, however, she dared to suggest, 1Roughly $156 million in 2018 dollars. “Sooo—is there anything in the idea of a Time Inc. Associates Program, among whom, hopefully, the Board of Selection might annually choose a For permission to reprint this article, please contact: reprint man, or woman (please!) worthy to be dubbed a Luce Fellow…” [Clare [email protected]. Boothe Luce to Andrew Heiskell, February 4, 1968, p. 8, Clare Boothe DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1090/noti1819 Luce papers, my emphasis].

March 2019 Notices of the American Mathematical Society 387 HISTORY aging musician with too few prospects and too much of a provided Clare with plenty of money and an increased so- drinking habit. Ann Snyder wanted more for her children cial confidence. Although “she had ample means to settle and for herself. When Ann’s father suffered a serious illness for the life of a socialite” after her divorce from Brokaw, in September 1912, she took the opportunity to move her she chose, instead, to “capitalize on her own abilities in the children to her parents’ home in New Jersey. She eventu- workplace [Morris, 2014, p. 29].” ally told acquaintances she was a widow. With the death In an attempt to give her life new direction and mean- of Ann’s father in 1913, the family relocated to New York ing, Clare interviewed for a position at Vogue magazine. City [Morris, 1997, p. 39]. After waiting all summer to hear from the magazine, Clare This transient lifestyle proved challenging for Clare. She self-assuredly walked into the Vogue building and con- had a difficult time making friends, a situation that would vinced an office assistant that she was a new employee. not improve in her lifetime. Clare spent two years at the Soon enough, colleagues gave the new beautiful, profes- Cathedral School of St. Mary’s in Garden City, Long Island, sional woman sitting at an empty desk work to do. Vogue’s where some students viewed her as “the most conceited girl editor, Edna Woolman Chase, thought the publisher of in the school [Morris, 1997, p. 57].” Clare felt she would the magazine, Condé Nast, had hired Clare. Nast, in turn, never succeed at St. Mary’s, so she appealed to her mother thought Chase had brought her on board the magazine’s to let her leave. Clare’s mother subsequently enrolled her staff [Morris, 2014]. Clare received her first paycheck after at the Castle School above Tarrytown-on-Hudson in New one month [Morris, 1997, p. 163]. Consequently, with no York. This move was intended to put Clare in a better po- formal education or experience in writing, Clare secured a sition to find a suitable husband rather than earn a college job with one of the most popular magazines of the time. degree. At the Castle, although Clare won the school’s titles She soon moved down the hall to Vanity Fair with the title of “Most Artistic,” “Cleverest,” and “Prettiest,” she finished of Junior Editor. Her first piece “Talking Up—and Thinking second for “Most Ambitious,” the only award she felt she Down: How to Be a Success in Society Without Saying a truly deserved. As she expressed it in her diary, “[m]y whole Single Word of Much Importance” appeared in 1930 [Clare heart and soul is wrapt [sic] up in three things: Mother, Boothe Luce, “Talking Up”]. In this article, Clare encour- Brother and my ambition for success [Clare Boothe Luce aged readers to be conventional, predictable, safe, and even Diary, February 6, 1919, as quoted in Morris, 1997, p. 61].” boring in order to have a successful conversation. She iden- Clare’s drive for success remained with her throughout tified the six topics guaranteed to start a conversation: golf, her life. She decided the best route to success was through the stock market, prohibition, theater, gossip, and current marriage, and, in particular, marriage to a wealthy man. As social activities [Clare Boothe Luce, “Talking Up,” p. 39]. she put it in a letter to a friend, “Damned if I’ll ever love any After the 1929 stock market crash, Vanity Fair struggled mere man. Money! I need it and the power it brings, and to adjust to the new economic conditions. Advertising someday you shall hear my name spoken of as—famous revenues, for example, dropped twenty percent [Morris, [Clare Boothe Luce to Ruth B. Morton, November 18, 1921, 1997, p. 181]. Clare helped reestablish Vanity Fair as a as quoted in Morris, 1997, p. 99].”3 True to her word, Clare serious magazine concerned with issues beyond the scope loved one man, but married another. At the age of twenty, of fashion. Her confidence grew with the success of her she married George Tuttle Brokaw, a millionaire alcoholic public-affairs articles. She earned a promotion to associate more than twice her age who simultaneously doubled as editor. She used her candor and satire to develop her skills New York’s most eligible bachelor [Morris, 2014]. as a political writer. This work led her to the 1932 Dem- Four months after the wedding, Clare learned she was ocratic National Convention in Chicago, where she met pregnant. Although she tried scalding hot baths as a way to Bernard Baruch, an advisor to Franklin D. Roosevelt and the induce an abortion, the child lived and Ann Clare Brokaw fourth richest man in America. Baruch introduced Clare to was born in 1924. The baby helped the marriage temporar- many of the nation’s most powerful and prominent men. ily but could not save a marriage damaged from the start. With her increasing success, Clare began to take some Clare plotted how to exit the marriage “with minimum liberties at Vanity Fair. She requested weeks off for personal damage and the maximum amount of money [Morris, travel. When in the office, she often arrived late or left 1997, p. 140].” When Clare and Brokaw amicably divorced early. She produced fewer articles [Morris, 1997, p. 227]. 4 in May, 1929, Clare received a settlement of a $425,000 Consequently, Condé Nast expressed concern over her trust fund, an annual income, and expenses for Ann. Fol- schedule. He also questioned her ability to successfully lowing a difficult custody battle, each parent was allotted balance her roles as an editor and author along with her six months a year with Ann. For all its faults, the marriage 4Between 1867 and 1967, the Census Bureau measured the divorce rate by 3As Gore Vidal pointed out more than 75 years later, Clare expressed these the number of divorces for every 1000 people in the population. In 1929, thoughts fifteen years before Scarlett O’Hara leapt to and out of the pages the rate was 1.7. See 100 Years of Marriage and Divorce Statistics, of Gone With the Wind [Vidal, p. 208]. 1867–1967.

388 Notices of the American Mathematical Society Volume 66, Number 3 HISTORY recent aspirations to become a playwright. These circum- stances prompted Clare to leave Vanity Fair and begin work as an independent writer. She tried short stories using her trademark satire but found her best work as a playwright. After a few unsuccessful plays, she published The Women in 1936 [Luce, Women]. The Women featured a group of New York’s wealthiest idle women whose concerns focused on their physical appearance and the town’s latest gossip. Clare worked her progressive views into the play with a conversation between the protagonist and her daughter: Child: “What fun is there to be a lady? What can a lady do?” Mother: “These days, ladies do all the things men do. They fly aeroplanes across the ocean, they go into politics and business [Luce, Women, p. 23].” The play opened on Broadway on December 26, 1936 and reached capacity by the end of its fourth week. It ran for 657 performances in the US and 18 countries and grossed over 2 million dollars. The success of The Women and two other plays not only established Clare as a talented comedic writer but it also allowed her to embody the life of the mod- ern career woman and encourage others to do the same. Through her writing, Clare met Henry Robinson Luce, the once humble newspaper reporter on the Chicago Daily News now turned publishing magnate with his Time, For- tune, and Life magazines. Harry Luce divorced his wife of 11 years and married Clare in 1935. The marriage lasted 32 Figure 1. Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce of years but was not without its challenges. In his New York . Times obituary, Alvin Krebs suggested that the “rumored difficulties” were “perhaps inevitable in a marriage between Clare fought for the continued military strength of the US two such strongminded personalities [Krebs].” and she supported equal employment opportunities and Although Harry provided Clare with sufficient oppor- racial equality. Of these interests, she prioritized the na- tunities to enhance her writing career, Clare now hoped tion’s safety and security above the “feminist issue [Morris, to develop her skills as a politician. In the late 1930s she 2014, p. 30].” Clare, however, found it difficult to be taken traveled to Europe to observe political events firsthand. seriously. While her male colleagues were often valued for Harry joined her for part of the trip. When she returned their ideas or achievements, she found that female public to the States, she hastily wrote a nonfiction book titled figures were evaluated on their looks or personalities. As Europe in the Spring to express what she called an eye- and a Congresswoman then, Clare must have found herself at ear-witness report of what she saw [Luce, Europe in the the confluence of the theoretical and the practical, fighting Spring]. Her book helped shape public opinion in the US for women’s rights while living the reality of a woman in as Americans tried to make sense of the growing crisis in Congress on a daily basis. Europe. After the outbreak of war, she accepted the position Clare felt pressure to succeed. As she put it, “because I as War Correspondent for Life magazine and traveled again am a woman I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I through Europe. These opportunities and her connections fail no one will say, ‘She doesn’t have what it takes.’ They allowed Clare to segue into politics. will say, ‘Women don’t have what it takes [Martin, p. 306, In 1942, she ran as a Republican in a largely Demo- Clare’s emphasis].”5 Clare grew tired of politics because cratic constituency of the Connecticut district where she she felt politicians were overly critical and never capable lived. She won by a very narrow margin. Women eager to of admitting a mistake. She confessed, “I always regretted elect the first congresswoman from Connecticut may have earned Clare her victory and she felt honored to fulfill that I shifted to politics. You can do nothing truly creative this role. Clare acknowledged that socially established 5Clare was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame in prejudices surrounding women in politics still existed, 1994 (posthumously). This quote is also featured on her biography page. but she was eager to hold a position with (purportedly) See cwhf.org/inductees/politics-government-law equal opportunities for power and prestige. In Congress, /Clare-boothe-luce#.W5VyKq2ZPUo.

March 2019 Notices of the American Mathematical Society 389 HISTORY in politics by yourself [Martin, p. 272].” She continued to Italy, the first woman to serve as an American envoy to in her position, however, because she felt she owed it to a major country. The ambassadorship proved mutually women to serve as a positive model of an ambitious and beneficial to Clare and to the US. On the diplomatic front, successful career woman. Clare accomplished her three assigned tasks, including ad- In January 1944, tragedy struck and temporarily put vancing the Italian-American friendship, helping to settle Clare’s political frustrations aside. Her daughter, Ann, was the Trieste crisis, and aiding the young democracy of Italy killed in a car accident while traveling back to Stanford. in fighting communism [Hatch, p. 237]. Gore Vidal later Although they had something of a distant relationship, went so far as to credit Clare with “single-handedly saving Clare was overcome with grief and regret for not spending Italy from Communism [Vidal, p. 203].” She retired after more time with Ann. While a student at Stanford, Ann this appointment in 1956. She and Harry settled on their had “pined for her mother to write, telephone or visit. ranch in Arizona, although they still traveled extensively. But Clare always had excuses [Morris, 2014, p. 45].” In Harry died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1967. In his July 1943, Ann had blamed herself for requesting Clare’s will, Harry had established a trust for Clare that paid her attention. “Forgive all my stupid little letters in which I interest only, “the absolute minimum he could get away normally ask you to write to me!” Ann wrote to Clare, with without having the will challenged [Brenner, p. 166].” “[s]omehow I always forget how very busy you are—and all The trust would revert to the Henry Luce Foundation at the the good you are doing—until I get a batch of clippings! time of her death. Harry Luce’s son, Hank, however, allowed Then it’s always a wonder to me how you even manage to Clare to determine how she would like to use the trust.8 survive the work you have to do.”6 When Clare did write to Ann, her affection for her daughter was everywhere ap- The Vision for the Awards: parent. On November 7, 1943, for example, Clare opened The Clare Boothe Luce Fund her letter with “Annie my pudding-cake, my peach pie, With this freedom, Clare directed the majority of the pro- and all assorted delicacies [Morris, 2014, p. 57].” Initially, ceeds of her Estate to support the Clare Boothe Luce Fund Clare’s grief seemed to propel her into more aggressive and “dedicated exclusively to funding scholarships and profes- combative types of politics and fueled her 1944 reelection sorships for women students and professors at educational campaign, which she won. institutions, a minimum 50% of which shall be Roman By September 1945, however, Ann’s death combined Catholic. The purpose of the Clare Boothe Luce Fund shall with discouraging world events led Clare to a point of de- be to encourage women to enter, study, graduate, and teach spair [Luce, The Real Reason, April, 1947]. She called (in the in the following fields of endeavor: Physics, Chemistry, middle of the night) a Jesuit priest in New York who had Biology, Meteorology, Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical, written to her over the years. He referred Clare to Monsignor Aeronautical, Civil, Nuclear and other Engineering disci- (later Bishop) Fulton Sheen in Washington, DC. Father plines), Computer Science, and Mathematics [CBL Last Will Sheen and Clare had several conversations over the course and Testament, p. 12].” Her choice of scientific fields was of the next several months and, on February 16, 1946, deliberate. “I select such fields of endeavor in recognition 7 Clare converted to Catholicism. Since her Connecticut that women today have already entered the fields of medi- district had a very large Catholic vote, she did not want her cine, law, business and the arts, and in order to encourage newfound faith to be misconstrued as a political maneuver more women to enter the fields of science [CBL Last Will to influence her constituents. To avoid this confusion, two and Testament, p. 12].” The awards were (and are) desig- weeks before her conversion, Clare announced that she nated for scholarship and teaching in the US only.9 would not run for Congress again. This decision may have Just as Clare always hoped to accomplish more in life, resolved the potential political issue associated with her she hoped other women would do the same. She would do newly adopted Catholicism, but no matter “how religious her part to make this happen. By the time of her death in Clare became, the loss of Ann remained a persistent and tragic wound [Brenner, p. 164].” 8The close relationship Hank developed with Clare is everywhere evident After her two terms as a Congresswoman, she resumed in his tribute to her in “Clare Boothe Luce—Woman of the Century: A her writing and suffered defeat in a Senate race in 1952. In Son’s Tribute,” Crisis Magazine, December 1, 1987. https://www 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Clare ambassador .crisismagazine.com/1987/clare-boothe-luce-woman -of-the-century-a-sons-tribute. 9When responding to a query about an initial Visiting Assistant Professor- 6Ann Clare Brokaw to Clare Boothe Luce, July 7, 1943, as quoted in ship Program, Terrill Lautz, Program Officer of the Henry Luce Foundation, Morris, 2014, pp. 45–46. may have provided further insight into the overall aims of the still-to-be 7Hatch chronicles the conversations between Father Sheen and Clare on established Clare Boothe Luce Fund. “[T]he Luce Foundation wants to pp. 176–185. Clare documented her own journey to Catholicism in “The encourage the development of a permanent core of women faculty in fields Real Reason,” an article that appeared in three installments in McCall’s where women have not been well represented in leadership positions at magazine in February, March and April, 1947. American universities [Lautz to Yu, 2 July, 1987].”

390 Notices of the American Mathematical Society Volume 66, Number 3 HISTORY

Figure 2. Pages 12–13 of Clare Boothe Luce's last will and testament, noting her wish to fund women in STEM studies and careers. 1987, Clare had seen women make significant advances in opportunities for women in higher education. She was some fields, but not, from her perspective, in mathematics, realistic, however. “Today she [a woman] is free to study engineering, and certain sciences. Even though these disci- for any ‘masculine career’ that her own ambition suggests” plines fell outside her own areas of expertise, she recognized but… “as matters stand, her ambition is understandably the need for support and funding. A comment late in her dampened by the knowledge that even if she graduates at life may offer insight into Clare’s choice for her legacy. the top of her class, she will not find it easy to translate her In 1981, she admitted to one of her biographers, Wilfred well-earned degree into an upward-mobility job [Luce, 21st Sheed, that she envied Sandra Day O’Connor, America’s Century Woman, pp. 61–62].” Thus Clare understood that first female Supreme Court justice. Although Clare was a even though women had access to new educational oppor- woman of many “firsts” herself, she told Sheed, “I don’t tunities, they still faced challenges in a male-dominated want to be her, I [would] just like to have had that kind of job market. Though Clare’s success was not related to her chance [Sheed, p. 163].” Her creation of the Clare Boothe level of education, she recognized that gender equality in Luce Fund provided women with a chance. education was a necessary precursor to job equality. She also publicly recognized the three most important In her will, Clare designated “that the following named breakthroughs for women that could help them achieve institutions shall be allocated a portion of the princi- equal opportunity: the legal process, the female contracep- pal of such fund in the amount of…$3,000,000 each tive, and opportunities for higher education [Luce, “Women (about $6,692,000 today) [CBL Last Will and Testament, Superior to Men,” p. 281]. She especially valued higher pp.12–13].” These schools included Boston University, education. Since Clare had only a very limited formal ed- Colby College, Creighton University, Fordham University, ucation, she was thrilled to witness—and advance—new Georgetown University, Marymount College, Mount Holy-

March 2019 Notices of the American Mathematical Society 391 HISTORY oke College, Mundelein College, Notre Dame University, preceded her. This initial welcome segued into continued Santa Clara University, St. John’s University (Long Island, support and mentorship. At least two of the previous Clare NY), Seton Hall University, Trinity College (Washington, Boothe Luce professors have moved into leadership posi- DC), and Villanova Preparatory School in Ojai California. tions on campus. These opportunities testify to the power [CBL Last Will and Testament, p. 13]. (Mundelein College of Clare’s vision. Creighton’s ongoing cycle of chances affiliated with Loyola University Chicago in 1991 and is no for women to earn a degree, teach others, and move into longer funded from this initial allocation.) These fourteen leadership positions is precisely the sort of outcome Clare schools had a Catholic affiliation, had awarded Clare an aimed to achieve. honorary degree, or had a sentimental attachment for her. As part of her professorship, Baker oversees the selec- Other schools can apply for funding through the “Clare tion of the Clare Boothe Luce undergraduate scholarships. Boothe Luce Program Invited Institution Competition.” Typically, Creighton offers 5–8 full tuition scholarships The Clare Boothe Luce Fund especially encourages Catholic through the Clare Boothe Luce program. These scholar- institutions with strong science programs to apply [Clare ships are generally awarded to students who are actively Boothe Luce Program]. In 2017, by way of an example, engaged in research. Scholarship recipients take a “Women eleven institutions received grants through the Invited in Science” Seminar, taught by the Clare Boothe Luce Competition for funding to begin in 2018. Three decades Professor. This seminar focuses on issues facing women in after the initial bequest, in addition to the designated science, including the impostor syndrome and stereotype schools, more than 100 colleges and universities have threat.10 The seminar fosters community and inspires benefited from the Clare Boothe Luce program [see CBL conversations about graduate school, research, etc. As Dr. Recent Grants]. Baker described it, “the presence of the Clare Boothe Luce To fulfill Clare’s aim “to encourage women to enter, undergraduate scholarships creates an environment where study, graduate and teach,” the Clare Boothe Luce Program women involved in undergraduate research are supported administers awards in the three distinct categories of un- and valued [Interview with Catie Baker].” The ongoing dergraduate scholarships and research awards; graduate fel- presence of Clare Boothe Luce support at Creighton has lowships for the first two years of a PhD program; and pro- not only advanced women at various stages in their careers fessorship support for the first five years of a tenure-track but has also fostered a favorable environment on campus appointment. In the most recent year of funding for invited for women in mathematics and science to succeed as part institutions, the Clare Boothe Luce Fund awarded grants in of a broader community.11 each of these categories [CBL Recent Grants]. Impact of Invited Institutions Impact of a Designated Institution Beyond the institutions designated in Clare’s will, other Creighton University, one of the institutions designated eligible institutions of higher education can apply for in Clare’s will, has a robust “Clare Boothe Luce Program awards through the “Invited Institution Competition.” for Women in Science [Creighton Clare Boothe Luce Pro- Sarah Spence Adams, Professor of Mathematics and Elec- gram].” Through this program, Creighton funds undergrad- trical & Computer Engineering at Olin College, received uate scholarships, graduate scholarships for women pur- a Clare Boothe Luce scholarship for her final two years suing PhDs, and faculty positions. Since 1992, Creighton as a student at the University of Richmond in Richmond, has rotated a Clare Boothe Luce Professorship in various Virginia in 1995–1997, for example. The award also in- fields in mathematics and science. Dr. Cynthia Farthing, cluded funding for undergraduate research. Her professor who earned her PhD in mathematics from the University at Richmond, Dr. James Davis, called the Clare Boothe of Iowa, held the Clare Boothe Luce Professorship from Luce opportunity to her attention and encouraged her to 2007–2012. Dr. Catie Baker, an Assistant Professor in Com- apply. At the time, she had no idea what “undergraduate puter Science, is currently the seventh Clare Boothe Luce 10 Professor at Creighton. The Chair is designed to support [Harris] includes a sample reading list for the Creighton Women in Science Seminar on pp. 109–110. a pre-tenure woman in a science or math field through 11 tenure. It provides support to attend conferences, to fund For more on the impact of the early years of Clare Boothe Luce Funding at Creighton, see [Harris]. Although written in 1995, her insights apply to undergraduate researchers, and to purchase supplies and contemporary issues. As Harris puts it, “[a] topic of particular concern to stu- materials. dents in the past 2 years has been sexual harassment…It is imperative that Four of the six previous Clare Boothe Luce professors women not internalize harassment, whether it is called harassment or not. remain at Creighton and offer a strong network of support This is particularly true for gender-based harassment. Sexual harassment is for Baker. Baker underscored the benefits of having a Clare much easier to identify, but gender-based harassment is far more common and more dangerous to the self-esteem and success of women. Examples of Boothe Luce professorship at a designated institution. gender-based harassment include females being ignored in class (not called When she arrived at Creighton, she immediately shared a on) or, when they are called on, a female student’s answer being deemed connection with the Clare Boothe Luce professors who had not as correct as a male student’s identical response [Harris, p. 107].”

392 Notices of the American Mathematical Society Volume 66, Number 3 HISTORY research” meant. Davis showed her a book with an open reached out to Adams to help craft an application for a question he had solved and helped her understand what Clare Boothe Luce grant to support undergraduate research, undergraduate research might look like for her. She studied she was eager to help. Olin modeled their proposal around coding theory with Davis and cryptography with Dr. Gary the two-year undergraduate research experience Adams had Greenfield with her Clare Boothe Luce summer undergrad- at Richmond. Olin’s proposal included academic support, uate research support. summer support, travel to conferences, and travel to see The scholarship served as an “enormous source of con- mentors. Adams recalls, “I had seen all of these components fidence that I could actually be part of a mathematical re- at Richmond and with Joe Gallian at Duluth and knew search community," Adams says. "I wasn't exactly sure what the impact they had on me.” In 2011, Olin received an that meant at the time but I understood that I had received $180,000 award from the Clare Boothe Luce Foundation. funding to do mathematics. That was a novel idea.” She Olin granted their first awards in 2013 [Bailey]. presented her research at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in 1996 and won a prize for her poster. The prize was a gift Epilogue certificate to select a book at a publisher. As she described In February, 1942, Clare posed a question of possibility to it, “[to] claim the prize, I walked into the exhibit hall and her daughter Ann. “Would it amuse you,” Clare asked, “to was able to pick out any book I wanted. At that point, I have your ma run for Congress and one day get to be a Cab- only had books that my professors had assigned to me. inet minister, or maybe the first lady Vice President? [Mor- Choosing my own mathematics book made me feel like a ris, 1997, p. 473].” A year later, Albert P. Morano, Clare’s real mathematician [Interview with Sarah Spence Adams].” executive assistant when she served as a Congresswoman, Her undergraduate research experiences at Richmond remarked that she “might even get to be President [Morris, made her a viable candidate for Joe Gallian’s Research 2014, p. 22].” Thus Clare and Morano at least considered Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of the chance of Clare as the Vice President and/or President Minnesota in Duluth. She could take her Clare Boothe Luce of the United States.12 We know Clare valued a chance, for funding with her so she did not have to rely on Gallian’s herself, and, as it turns out, for other women. NSF resources. The REU “propelled her into research” and By the time Clare signed her will in early 1987, her ex- helped her gain admission to the NSA Director’s Summer periences had more than acquainted her with the realities Program the following year. These experiences not only of life as an ambitious woman who exceeded the expec- improved her level of mathematics but also continued to tations of the existent social milieu. In perpetuity, then, open doors for her. She had the confidence to pursue a PhD she drew from these experiences to encourage women to in mathematics at Cornell, specializing in algebraic coding pursue education for careers in fields, that at the time of theory, and then to accept a faculty position at Olin College her death, Clare viewed as primarily available to men. The in Needham, Massachusetts, where she is now Professor of last three decades testify to the continued vibrancy and Mathematics and Electrical & Computer Engineering and a veracity of her ideas. former Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Development. Drawing from her two generations of experience with Adams says, “The Clare Boothe Luce experience taught me Clare Boothe Luce awards for mathematics, Sarah Spence the value of undergraduate research so I dedicated myself Adams observed that “Clare Boothe Luce awards build 13 to mentoring undergraduates at Olin.” In her first decade confidence and create opportunities.” That formidable at Olin, she mentored around 30 students, approximately combination has advanced women not only in mathemat- 25 of whom continued for multiple years. All but three of ics, but also in science and engineering, precisely what Clare these students have published professional journal articles Boothe Luce hoped to accomplish with her bequest and with Adams. “I took their mentorship seriously,” Adams what the Clare Boothe Luce Fund aims to achieve today. explained. “I knew the impact it would have on them to Clare Boothe Luce may not have understood the intricacies come up with novel results, to edit, to revise, to publish, to of the fields she supported. She did, however, understand attend a conference, to give a talk, to field questions, etc. the necessary general framework for women to forge new I knew these values because I discovered them as an un- 12A decade after her death, Gore Vidal went so far as to say, “If born a dergraduate myself [Interview with Sarah Spence Adams].” man,” she “could have easily been a president, for what that’s worth these Since Adams received her Clare Boothe Luce support days: a cool billion, I believe.” Vidal, p. 216. more than twenty years ago, she provides an advantageous 13Of course, confidence is also a helpful skill for men in mathematics. Uni- perspective on the long-term benefits of the program. “My versity of Chicago mathematician Gilbert Ames Bliss noted the confidence Clare Boothe Luce experience was officially two years long. his colleague, E. H. Moore, a pivotal figure in American mathematics in As the days, months and years have gone by, however, the late 1800s and early 1900s, acquired during his year of study in Berlin and Göttingen in 1885–1886. “There is no doubt,” Bliss wrote, “that the Adams notes, I have realized how much I gained from the year abroad affected greatly…Moore’s career as a scholar. It established scholarship and the opportunities that came along with his confidence in his ability to take an honorable place in the … circle of it.” Not surprisingly, when the Olin Development Office mathematicians... [as quoted in Parshall and Rowe, p. 282, my emphasis].”

March 2019 Notices of the American Mathematical Society 393 HISTORY pathways and find success. Clare Boothe Luce drew from Morris, Sylvia Jukes. Rage for Fame. New York: Random her own experiences and observations to lay out the details House, Inc. 1997. Morris, Sylvia Jukes. Price of Fame: The Honorable Clare Boothe for a foundation that would continue to promote and en- Luce. New York: Random House, 2014. sure these goals over time. Parshall, Karen Hunger & David E. Rowe. The Emergence of the American Mathematical Research Community 1876–1900: Bibliography J.J. Sylvester, Felix Klein, and E.H. Moore. Providence, Rhode Unpublished Sources Island: The American Mathematical Society, 1994. Adams, Sarah Spence. Phone Interview. 8 August, 2018. Sheed, Wilfrid. Clare Boothe Luce. New York: Dutton Publish- Baker, Catie. Phone Interview. 7 August, 2018. ing, Inc. 1982. Terrill E. Lautz to Yu Song-quing, July 2, 1987. Clare Boothe Teltsch, Kathleen. Mrs. Luce Left $70 Million for Women’s Luce Papers, Box 717, Folder 8, Clare Boothe Luce Papers. Science Education, , July 2, 1989. Manuscript Division. Library of Congress. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/02/us/mrs Clare Boothe Luce to Andrew Heiskell, February 4, 1968, p. -luce-left-70-million-for-women-s-science 8. Clare Boothe Luce Papers, Box 716, Folder 3, Memorial -education.html. Foundations, Clare Boothe Luce Papers. Manuscript Divi- The Clare Boothe Luce Program. www.hluce.org sion. Library of Congress. /cblprogram.aspx. Clare Boothe Luce Last Will and Testament. Clare Boothe US Department of Health Education and Welfare. “100 Luce Papers, Box 67, Folder 9, Clare Boothe Luce Papers. Years of Marriage and Divorce Rates in the United States, Manuscript Division. Library of Congress. 1867–1967.” Series 21, Number 24, December, 1973. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr Published Sources _21/sr21_024.pdf. Bailey, Chelsea. More Opportunities for Women in Stem Vidal, Gore. The Last Empire Essays 1992–2000. New York: Research, September 27, 2013. www.olin.edu/blog Doubleday, 2001. /career-and-graduate-stories/post/more -opportunities-women-stem-research. Brenner, Marie. Great Dames: What I Learned from Older Wom- en. New York: Crown Publishers, 2000. CBL Recent Grants to Invited Institutions. www.hluce .org/cblgrants.aspx. Creighton Clare Boothe Luce Program for Women in Science. biology.creighton.edu/luce. Grant Spotlight: The Clare Boothe Luce 25th Anniversa- ry Professors Conference. www.hluce.org/cbl25th anniversaryspotlight.aspx. Harris, Holly. “The Clare Boothe Luce Program at Creighton Della Dumbaugh University,” in Teaching the Majority: Breaking the Gender Barrier in Science, Mathematics and Engineering, pp. 98–110, edited by Sue Rosser, New York: Teachers College Press, Credits 1995. Figure 1 photo of Clare Boothe Luce by National Archives Hatch, Alden. Ambassador Extraordinary: Clare Boothe Luce. and Records Administration [Public domain], via Wiki- New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1955. media Commons. Krebs, Albin. Clare Boothe Luce Dies at 84: Playwright, Poli- Figure 2 photos of select pages from Clare Booth Luce's last tician, Envoy. New York Times, October 10, 1987. will and testament are courtesy of the Library of Congress. Luce, Clare Boothe. Europe in the Spring. New York: Alfred A. Author photo used by permission of the University of Rich- Knopf, Inc. 1940. mond. Luce, Clare Boothe. Talking Up—and Thinking Down: How to be a Success in Society without Saying a Single Word of Much Importance, Vanity Fair 1930: pp. 39, 85. Luce, Clare Boothe. The Real Reason, parts 1–3. McCall’s, Feb- ruary, March, April, 1947. Luce, Clare Boothe. The Women. 1937. New York: Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1966. Luce, Clare Boothe. The 21st-Century Woman—Free at Last? Saturday Review World 24, August 1974: 58–62. Luce, Clare Boothe. When Women Will Be Superior to Men, McCall’s, April 1976: 186–187, 281–282. Luce III, Henry. Clare Boothe Luce—Woman of the Centu- ry: A Son’s Tribute, Crisis Magazine, December 1, 1987. https://www.crisismagazine.com/1987/clare -boothe-luce-woman-of-the-century-a-sons -tribute. Martin, Ralph G. Henry and Clare: An Intimate Portrait of the Luces. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1991.

394 Notices of the American Mathematical Society Volume 66, Number 3